Route from Tinghir/Togdha Gorge to Dades Gorges
Dades Gorges was the second part (2nd day) of our route from Merzouga to Marrakesh. This second part of the route was from Tinghir (Togdha Gorge) to Dades Gorges/Dades Valley.
From Tinghir to our stay in Dades Gorges was 82km and the drive was about 1.5 hours. Again the plan was to check in to our stay at Dar Rihana Dadès, rest and relax before visiting Dades Gorges viewpoint about 3.5km away.
The Dades Gorges or the Dades Valley were a series of gorges carved out by the Dades River. It stretched from the town of Boumalne Dades to the town Msemrir. The walls of the gorges ranged from 200 to 500 meters (660 to 1,640 feet).
mONKEY FINGERS
Just before we reached our stay Dar Rihana Dadès we arrived at Monkey Fingers. The Monkey Fingers were a series of unique rock formations located near the village of Tamellait in Dades Valley a short distance from our stay .
We saw this striking rock formation as we were driving on the road so we looked for a place to stop to have a closer view. We found a Berber Cafe, Fatima which built to face the “Monkey Fingers”.
The rock formation had this perculiar knotty knuckles of curled fingers. These formations were a result of natural forces that shaped the landscape.
At the Berber cafe we bought a pot of mint tea and sat at its “viewpoint” to enjoy “Monkey Fingers”. We stayed for an hour before leaving the cafe.
From the cafe we drove some 9km northway to our stay Dar Rihana Dadès. It was located in a small quiet town, Aït Ouffi. The village had a main street with red mud houses on both sides of the road. Directly at the hotel there was no parking and we were instructed to park our car a couple of blocks down the road.
Our hotel was a four to five storey mud/brick building. The front side of the hotel, along the road, looked rather simple/normal. But once we crossed the threshold into the hotel we were pleasantly surprise by it interior.
The hotel had a pool in its inner compound. Before we were shown to our room we were served welcome tea, juice and snack in a cool pavillion over looking the lovely pool. There were several activities available beside relaxing, one would be a guided tour to a garden growing “edibles” by the side of the hotel.
We were checking with a staff as to a good place for dinner in the vicinity when we were told that the hotel served “Michelin” grade dinner. Wow! We quickly reserved a table for two for dinner!
Dades Gorges
Though our stay was already located in Dades Gorge we had not seen any dramatic cliffs. At about 4.30pm, we left our hotel and drove some 3.5 km to an iconic viewpoint of Dades Valley, a pass, with switchback.
Near the pass, there was a carpark and many cars were already there. Parking space was not a problem and parking was free. We parked our car and walked a short distance to the viewpoint.
From the viewpoint we could see the switchback winding down to the base of the gorge. It was a spectacular view and we could see a tiny river at the bottom of the gorge. At sunset the entire place was pretty “golden”.
We drove down the switchback and into the gorge for about 20 km before turning back. It was a lovely drive and the road was good but there were no other vehicle on the road except ours.
Dinner
Dinner was wonderful at Dar Rihana Dades. It was served in the dining room on the upper floor. There were about five tables and all the tables were full. After we sat down and shorty we were served our food, our waiter told us that he would only dished out the food when the guests were seated, it was important that the soup was of the right temperature and the bread was toasted just nicely to be consumed.
It was a five course delightful dinner. Each plate was beautifully served and looked too nice to eat.
Desert was lovely and at the end of the five course we felt so satisfied. The dinner for two was 480MAD.
Stay for the night
Out room in Dar Rihana Dadès was on the third level. It was a nice room with ensuite bathroom and a balcony with a great view.
The toilet was quaint , large and clean.
Outside our room we had a large private balcony with sunbeds and a great view of the pool and the vegetable garden beside the hotel. The cost for a night for two persons with breakfast was Eur76.
Breakfast the next day int the dining hall was delicious and lovely.
